Luke Wilson almost ended up at UCLA. Instead, the 6-foot-10 transfer found his way to Syracuse, and the Orange are banking on him to bring a defensive edge to the middle.
Wilson entered the portal on March 31 and was close to committing to Mick Cronin and the Bruins. Then his agent, K.J.
Smith, told him to pause and take a harder look around. Smith, a former North Carolina Tar Heel and the son of Kenny “The Jet” Smith, lined up meetings with four Power Five programs in a week: Syracuse, Tennessee, Georgia and Louisville.
Wilson first spoke with Ben Lee before meeting with Syracuse coaches Gerry McNamara and Arinze Onuaku, along with the staffs at the other schools. Three weeks after entering the portal, he had made his choice.
“I chose G-Mac and his crew because (of) him and A.O. Those guys stuck out to me the most,” Wilson said of the Syracuse coaches.
“They want to win and they want to compete. That’s something I want to do too.”
That connection with McNamara and Onuaku mattered. Wilson said the appeal went beyond the pitch and included the chance to work with Onuaku, a former Syracuse standout who played in the NBA and now serves as his position coach.
The fit is easy to see on paper: Onuaku played at Syracuse at 6-foot-9 and 261 pounds, while Wilson checks in at 6-foot-10 and 255. Wilson is expected to compete for the starting center job.
“That starting position is always cool but learning from him [Onuaku] and knowing he played at the highest level and him being here, knowing what it takes to get there and stay there too. That was big for me,” Wilson said.
Wilson arrives in the ACC after two seasons at Appalachian State, where he put together a strong final year. He won Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year, led the league with 1.8 blocks per game and averaged 10.7 points and 8.3 rebounds. He also finished with 12 double-doubles.
Now he’s stepping into a different level of competition, and he knows his offensive game needs to stretch a bit. Wilson describes himself as a “back to the basket guy” who can step out at times, and he said he has spent time this year working on his shot.
“I’ve been working on shooting a little bit more this year,” Wilson said.
The early practices have already turned into a battle inside. Syracuse has plenty of bodies at the four, with Sadiq White, Francis Folefac and Tasman Goodrick, whom teammates call the team’s best rebounder. At center, Wilson is working alongside a different kind of challenge in Abdramane Siby, the 7-foot big man from Bamako, Mali, who has a 7-foot-6 wingspan.
“Me and Siby go at it every practice. It’s been good.
Me and him making each other better,” Wilson said. “Just two defensive guys going at it.”
That defensive identity is where Wilson expects to make his biggest mark. Through Syracuse’s three exhibition games, he averaged 10 points and 7.3 rebounds. He was the 11th man in the UConn exhibition, then started the last two games against Siena and Niagara.
After the UConn game, McNamara made it clear what stood out.
“I thought Luke was terrific,” McNamara said after the UConn exhibition. “I thought Luke impacted the game, to be quite honest, the most with how he rebounded. He altered a few shots.”
Syracuse has also already slotted the center position into drop coverage on ball screens, a scheme Wilson says he’s comfortable with. For him, the mission is simple.
“A big impact on the defensive end,” Wilson said, “for sure.”
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